The winter months often mean more time spent indoors. To prevent the kids from going stir crazy, plan winter-themed art projects for them. The winter art project ideas work well at home or in the classroom. They are ideal for toddlers through middle school, with some modifications necessary to fit the particular age group you're working with.
Mobile
A mobile is a basic kids' art project that adapts well to fit the winter theme. A wire hanger creates the base for the mobile. Winter-themed pictures are drawn and cut from paper to create the hanging pieces for the mobile. Tie the pictures onto the hanger with white or blue string to stick with the winter color scheme. Snowmen, snowflakes, sleds, mittens and hats work well as images for the winter mobiles.
Winter Still Life
A still life is a picture of a group of inanimate objects. Gather several winter-themed objects, such as coats, mittens and boots, to create an arrangement. You can also let each child select his own materials and arrange them into a display to use for his still life. The kids sketch the winter arrangement to draw the still life. They can add color using markers, crayons, paint or other art supplies.
Mitten Wreath
The mitten shape is simple to recreate and works well in art projects. In this project, several mitten shapes are cut from construction paper and attached together in a circular shape to create a mitten wreath. Cutting a ring shape out of thin cardboard creates a form for the wreath for easier assembly. Let the kids decorate each individual mitten before attaching it to the wreath shape. Other shapes, such as snowflakes or gingerbread men, also work instead of mittens.
Handprint Pictures
Pictures that incorporate kids' handprints make a creative display that also captures the child's size at the time the artwork was created. Activity Village uses two palm prints to create two sections of the snowman. Help the child spread white paint on the palm and press it down on the paper twice, one right above the other. The four fingers are painted black to create the snowman's hat.
Kaboose suggests a handprint picture of a bare winter tree. The palm, five fingers and a small section of the arm are painted brown. The arm creates the trunk while the hand and fingers create the branches. The kids press their arms and hands down on a piece of paper with the fingers spread out. They can use their finger tips to create white snowflakes floating all around the tree for more of a winter touch.
